Books and Literature Question

[Andrew Button]

I know lots of you guys that work in late model shops probably use Alldata or Mitchell On Demand. How far does this stuff go back, and does it cover what an extensive library of books on older model cars would cover ? Myself I generally use Motors repair books from decades ago, but have spent a lifetime collecting factory service manuals on cars that are OLD. Do the computer based subscription services go back to cars say from the 50s and 60s ? Which is what I limit myself to for the most part. Thoughts ? For example, I have a book that covers all repairs and rebuilds for an Olds/Caddy Hydramatic 4 Speed auto tranny, published in about 1959, but if I didn’t have this book, could I find the same answers with electronic subscriptions ?

Topic

[Gary]

[quote=\”andrewbutton442\” post=124267]I know lots of you guys that work in late model shops probably use Alldata or Mitchell On Demand. How far does this stuff go back, and does it cover what an extensive library of books on older model cars would cover ? Myself I generally use Motors repair books from decades ago, but have spent a lifetime collecting factory service manuals on cars that are OLD. Do the computer based subscription services go back to cars say from the 50s and 60s ? Which is what I limit myself to for the most part. Thoughts ? For example, I have a book that covers all repairs and rebuilds for an Olds/Caddy Hydramatic 4 Speed auto tranny, published in about 1959, but if I didn\\\’t have this book, could I find the same answers with electronic subscriptions ?[/quote] Michell(snapon shopkey) goes waaaay back to 1957. That is if you have access to Shopkey Pro.

[Andrew Button]

is that something that the subscriber or shop has to pay an additional fee for ?

[Mike]

Our shop’s AllData Pro is great for what we do but only goes back to 1980, and costs $170/month for the subscription.

[Gary]

[quote=”andrewbutton442″ post=124279]is that something that the subscriber or shop has to pay an additional fee for ?[/quote] It’s shop supplied to me. There used to be shopkey5 and shopkey pro. They have done away with shopkey5 and now it’s only shopkey pro. If you had Shopkey Pro you had shopkey 5. Shopkey is not really for the DIY and requires a monthly sub fee of typical snapon pricing.

[Steve W.]

One thing I like with the old books was that you could easily jot down notes in the book where things were either wrong or you discovered a shortcut for the job. One nice thing with the online stuff is that it is usually updated when an update or service change was made to a vehicle model during the run. So if there was a change at a particular build date it is there. With the books you didn’t get this until the next printing of the book.

One big plus with the pc based info is ZOOM ability. It’s nice to be able to make some of the diagrams larger (if you don’t think this is important, wait till you get older 😉

[Andrew Button]

My favorite thing about an old book is what types of things you might find hidden in them. Receipts from the 1960s, peoples letters, ect. Can’t get that will Alldata. I have stacks of Mitchell time estimate books that are totally useless but fun none the less

[Gary]

I prefer the tangibility of the old books. There is something more satisfying about turning the page and being able to hold the book in your hands. While surfing through old books in a shop nowdays is impractical due to the interest of time, I would much rather have a tangible copy of a service manual any day when time is of no concern.

[Andrew Button]

Online manuals are like the cars they serve. Convenient, practical, lack any personality to speak of. Go through and old Motors manual and you can really tell what pages got used alot. Dogeared, maybe greaseprints, sorta like life. A page with a firing order, or maybe rod clearance will probably more show useage than, say something with an autotemp vacuum control diagram. Cannot get that back story with dvds and screens. These books were found in the type of shop I miss, no waiting areas, no tvs, no BS. Just a cash register, road map stands, an ashtray or two (sometimes in the shape of a tire) gas pumps out front and a couple in ground hoists in really dark bays. What days they were indeed.

[zero]

[quote=”DoorBreaker” post=124569]One big plus with the pc based info is ZOOM ability. It’s nice to be able to make some of the diagrams larger (if you don’t think this is important, wait till you get older ;)[/quote]

I hear ya, I’m not that old but my eyesight is starting to go. Nothing beats clicking the zoom in a handful of times on a large monitor.

While the intent of Mitchel is not so much to be interactive as much as say Identifix, there are still means by which to post notes, questions and fixes in both regular OnDemand and ProDemand. ProDemand even has some SureTrack style problem solving stuff where you can post confirmed fixes for trouble codes etc. I just honestly don’t think the user base is either aware of the function or how to use it to it’s potential.

[Gary]

[quote=”andrewbutton442″ post=124610]Online manuals are like the cars they serve. Convenient, practical, lack any personality to speak of. Go through and old Motors manual and you can really tell what pages got used alot. Dogeared, maybe greaseprints, sorta like life. A page with a firing order, or maybe rod clearance will probably more show useage than, say something with an autotemp vacuum control diagram. Cannot get that back story with dvds and screens. These books were found in the type of shop I miss, no waiting areas, no tvs, no BS. Just a cash register, road map stands, an ashtray or two (sometimes in the shape of a tire) gas pumps out front and a couple in ground hoists in really dark bays. What days they were indeed.[/quote] Exactly, no character at all. Character and soul is important.

[Author]

Replies